He blasted: “I am confronted with examples of how the Human Rights Act is being used, which any reasonable person would describe as thoroughly bonkers.

“Prison vans that travel 90 miles to take a prisoner 90 yards … paedophiles freed to leer at children in the parks where they committed their horrific crimes.” Mr Phillips said the laws were just a laughing stock.

People believed they had “come to mean the defence of criminals, terror suspects and illegal immigrants at the expense of everybody else”.

His comments will fuel outrage from campaigners furious that foreign crooks and killers are being allowed to stay here thanks to the laws.